Are companies getting what they wanted out of their enterprise projects? Also, are custom Web applications outpacing trusted off-the-shelf products? Plus: Are thieving employees the new shoplifters?

Enterprise Applications: What Returns May Come
Are companies getting what they wanted out of their enterprise projects? Only if they put enough resources into them, says a recent Accenture report. The yearlong global study analyzed 163 organizations that had spent an average of $51 million and installed at least two major applications. Accenture identified several characteristics common to the companies that met their goals: significant financial and time commitments; extensive implementation throughout the organization; and a long history of using the software. In addition, companies that held a specific individual accountable for benefits saw results faster.

Web Applications: Help Wanted
Application development is one of the most frequently outsourced technology activitiesand the popularity of that strategy is growing, according to a recent Aberdeen survey of senior technology executives.
"The application development numbers represent companies that are building custom Web applications for which there are no off-the-shelf products, as opposed to complex applications that are core to the business," says Aberdeen analyst Stephen Lane.

Customer Applications: Getting a Wireless Face
In a survey of 629 North American developers, about half expect to develop applications for wireless devices in the next year. The majority of those projects will likely be for commercial or scientific research purposes; wireless tools to ease workaday life is low on the list.

To Catch a Thief
According to a recent survey, inventory that disappeared before it could be sold cost U.S. retailers $33 billion in 2001. META Group and Teradata, unsurprisingly, assert that a supply-chain data warehouse can help prevent such losses. But unless the data stores can separate thieving employees (46% of losses) from shoplifters (31%), such efforts may be closing the data warehouse doors after the goods have already gone.

A Half-Empty Glass for Tech Spending
Optimism took another tumble after bouncing back from post-9/11 lows. Plans for increased technology spending had two quarters of upward movement that looked like a rebound-in-the-making. Not so fast.